DAILY MARKET UPDATES 19th September 2008

New CPF Rule for Home Sellers aged 55 and above
Currently, home owners aged 55 and above do not have to refund their CPF accounts when they sell their properties, unless they have pledged their homes to meet their Minimum Sum requirement. From Jan 1 2009, all home sellers over 55 who use CPF funds to pay for their properties will have to pay back this money - plus interest - up to their Minimum Sum requirement. If they have withdrawn less CPF money than the shortfall in their Minimum Sum, they will need to refund only what they have withdrawn, including interest, currently at 2.5 per cent a year. They do not need to make up for the rest of the shortfall in cash. Home sellers who do not receive enough from the property sale to refund the Minimum Sum deficiency will not be required to top up the shortfall, as long as the property is sold at market value. This rule change, will not affect those under the age of 55, or who turned 55 before July 1, 1995.
- The Straits Times, B38
City Skyline to get New Glow
Maybank, The Sail condo and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort are among the buildings that have sent lighting proposals to the Government. The URA's Lighting Masterplan was introduced in 2006. To encourage more buildings in Marina Bay and the CBD to light up, incentives were rolled out. New developments and buildings being revamped can get as much as 2 per cent additional gross floor area if they light up. Cash incentives from a $10 million fund to offset the capital costs of new lighting are also granted, particularly for existing structures.
- The Straits Times, A10
City’s Image will be the big F1 Winner
The F1 race is expected to attract 40,000 tourists, generate $100 million and attract a global TV audience of 500 million. Media experts estimate the public relations value of the F1 race to Singapore, including the two to three hours of live TV air-time, could be worth as much as US$300 million (S$430 million). The race coverage will help to draw in more tourists, conferences, and sporting and business activities in the long haul. Operators of food and beverage (F&B) outlets and tourist attractions, especially those located within or near the circuit, are in anticipation of bigger takings. At Central, the hope is that STB's projection of 60,000 visitors - 20 per cent more than usual - to the area during the period will come to pass.
- The Straits Times, A8
Macquarie Plunge causes Ripples in S’pore
Shares of Macquarie Group, Australia's biggest investment and securities group, plunged 23 per cent yesterday. The bank's independently managed private equity real estate company Macquarie Global Property Advisors (MGPA) - jointly owned by its senior management team and Macquarie - was the biggest foreign investor in Singapore's property market last year. Earlier this year, MGPA said that it will spend about $2 billion building a 2.6 million sq ft commercial complex on two development sites at Marina View that it clinched last year. With the sites having costs close to $3 billion, the total investment will come to around $5 billion. Macquarie shares have lost some 41 per cent of their value this week.
- The Business Times, P4
Slide in Property Investment
Latest figures from CBRE Research, property investment transactions in Q3 (up to Sept 18) reached $3.17 billion, reflecting a 35% drop from $4.86 billion in Q2 and a 65 per cent slide from $9.09 billion in Q1 this year. The industrial sector drove sales in Q3, accounting for 61% or $1.92 billion, most of the sector's contribution came from a single $1.71 billion deal, in which JTC Corporation divested its industrial property portfolio to Mapletree Industrial Trust. The residential sector was the next largest, contributing $807.79 million of property investment sales. There was only one successful collective-sale deal in the period, where an unnamed developer bought Ruby Apartments for $11 million. 'Developers' ability to acquire sites was dampened by rising construction costs, rising interest rates and tighter lending measures,' said the report. Investment activity in the retail and office sectors were quiet, with transaction values of $215.04 million and $142.84 million respectively. While the hospitality sector accounted for just $100 million of property investment sales, CBRE noted that the limited supply of hotel rooms today would attract greater investor interest in the medium term. Property investment sales to date stood at $17.12 billion, with 65% coming from the residential and office sectors. This is $54.02 billion below 2007 but it has exceeded the $14.66 billion in 2005.
- The Business Times, P10 & The Straits Times B37
(see attached “19 Sept Property Investment Q3”)
SIM opens Third Campus
For the first time, students of a private institution will be able to enjoy residential and recreational facilities comparable to those at Singapore's three public universities. Facilities such as tennis and futsal courts, a gym, a dance studio, barbecue pits and a cafeteria. The size of six football fields, it provides housing for 428 local and international students enrolled in programmes offered by SIM Global Education (SIM GE) - one of the institution's three arms that offer undergraduate and graduate programmes with partner universities overseas. In the last five years, SIM's student population has grown from 10,000 to about 16,000. Its international student population has also grown from 390 to 2,500. SIM GE offers programmes in business, tourism and nursing, among others. It plans to double its student population over the next five years.
- The Straits Times, B13
Luxury Terminal Upbeat despite $4M Loss
JetQuay has lost more than $4 million in less than two years since it launched the five-star facility, geared towards the premium market. Complete with its own private driveway and entrance, check-in counters and immigration and Customs facility, it offers users a way to bypass Changi's main terminals. The terminal handles about 50 to 100 travellers a day on average and aims to raise the number to at least 150 a day. To expand its customer base, JetQuay has tie-ups with hotels, travel agents, airlines and industry players to offer clients five-star treatment. Japan Airlines uses the facility for its premium travelers and selected arriving guests of the six-star St Regis Singapore are whisked through the JetQuay Terminal and chauffeured to the hotel in a Bentley limousine.
- The Straits Times, B4
China Unveils measures to Prop Up Stock Market
China yesterday announced a set of bold steps to bolster its sagging stock market, including scrapping its stamp tax on stock purchases and enlisting a government-controlled agency to buy shares of listed companies. Xinhua said Huijin, an arm of China Investment Corp (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund, would buy shares in three state-owned banks whose shares have fallen steeply - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank. CIC was set up a year ago to manage US$200 billion (S$287 billion) of China's foreign currency reserves.
- The Straits Times, B34
China Lifts Visa Curbs
Singaporeans headed to China on short trips of 15 days or less no longer need visas from today. China, which imposed the visa requirement on July 1 to tighten security ahead of the Olympic Games, has lifted it, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- The Straits Times, B1
Adv
Concourse Skyline
- 99-year leasehold from 13 March 2008
- 360 units
- 40 storeys
- Linked to the proposed Nicoll Highway MRT Station via a covered walkway
- 300 Beach Road
- Expected TOP: 31 December 2013
- Developer: Hong Fok Land Ltd
- Marketing agents: CBRE, DTZ
- The Business Times, P18-19 & The Straits Times, P18-19, advertisement

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